


Broken Toys

by VengeanceAngel



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Anal Sex, Drug Use, Emotional Abuse, Hurt Steve Harrington, Jaded Steve Harrington, M/M, Oral Sex, Parent/Child Incest, Past Sexual Abuse, Possessive Billy Hargrove, Protective Billy Hargrove, Sexual Abuse, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, The boys aren't using drugs, Verbal Abuse, physical intimidation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2020-09-28 22:29:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20433512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VengeanceAngel/pseuds/VengeanceAngel
Summary: Billy finds out about the Upside Down after Steve rescues him and is hurt in the process. Things get complicated when Billy decides to peek in on the life that he thinks Harrington has only to find out the truth is far more sinister.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this. I've had this sitting on my computer for awhile and figured I might as well put it up now as I'm usually busy working on another fic. But sometimes I need a break from one to focus on another.

The urge to interrupt him before he finishes is overwhelming. 

And yet Billy resists. As Steve Harrington stands in front of him apologizing to him for lying about the whereabouts of Max, Billy checks out a bit. _What the fuck is happening right now?_

“… So anyway, that’s really all I want to tell you. Regardless of what happened, I lied to you and I recognize that it must have been very frustrating for you and you were also just making sure that I wasn’t some sort of pervert so… I get it. But, I don’t want the rest of the year messed up by this and I think we can really be a good… not a team, but maybe we can get along for now. I’m not even sure why we didn’t become friends, but I guess it doesn’t matter. So… I’m ready to try again, if you are.”

Billy stares at him. “Why would I want to be friends with you?”

Steve drops the hand he’s been holding out peacefully. “Oh… um, yeah I guess no reason. I’m sorry.” He turns and walks back to his car. 

Billy watches him leave the parking lot and is still very confused by everything. He stays trapped in his thoughts about the other boy until Max walks up. “What’s wrong with you? You have a dumb look on your face.”

Billy rolls his eyes. “_You_ have a dumb look on your face.”

Max sighs and gets into the car. Once Billy joins her, she glances over at him. “Is this about Steve?”

He frowns and meets her eyes. “What do you mean? What do you know about it?”

“I don’t know anything. Not really. Dustin said something about how he has been working really hard to make amends or whatever. I guess he’s been practicing this whole speech for some sort of apology and Dustin said it sounded like he was meaning it for you so… I guess I figured he said something to you finally.”

“Huh. Yeah…” 

“So what happened?”

Billy shakes his head. “If I drop you off with your nerd friends, can you call your mom and ask her if you can stay for the night and then I’ll pick you up tomorrow sometime?”

“Sure… I’m always up for a sleepover at El’s and her dad is the police chief so they’ll say yes. What’s going on?”

Billy sighs. “I just need some time to myself… where do you want to go?”

“Um… The Wheelers?”

He rolls his eyes. “Of course you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, just watch your boyfriend around Karen Wheeler?”

“Why would I…. ew! You’re so gross!”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

Billy slams the door to his Camaro and looks out at the woods. _Neil is such a dick_! It had taken all of five minutes for Neil to start in on his shit and telling Billy what a disappointment he is. He’s not even sure why he was targeted tonight. Maybe he didn’t tell Susan thank you loud enough.” He rubs his arm from where Neil had gripped him so tight that he thought he’d break the bone. He lights up a cigarette and paces a few times back and forth in the dark, the orange ember the only thing giving away his presence. As it grows brighter on his inhale, Billy hears a growl coming from somewhere in the darkness. Billy frowns and goes over to his car, reaching in and flipping on his headlights to scare the shit out of whatever douchebag thinks it is a good idea to sneak up on him. 

Billy freezes in horror at the creature that appears to be nothing but black sinew and teeth and is standing not more than six feet in front of him. Billy is about to either scream or piss himself when he hears a yell from behind him to get down. He’s not sure how he manages to follow the order, but he does. As he drops, he feels the mud cling to his body as if holding him in place while the beast that’s whole head has opened is attacked by his rescuer. 

Billy is with it enough to have the realization that it is Steve’s voice he heard. It’s Steve’s cologne he smells as the boy jumps over him to attack the creature. It’s Steve’s sneakers he sees dancing around and it’s Steve’s cry of pain as the monster gets the upper hand. 

Billy snaps out of his stupor and into action. He yanks himself from the cool mud just in time to see Steve go down and the bat fly out of his hands onto the ground next to his own feet. He grabs it and rounds on the beast that is desperately trying to devour the other teen, but Steve turns them and takes away the good target Billy had in favor of his own back. Billy holds the bat up and starts screaming for Steve to get out of the way. Instead, Steve turns himself again and Billy takes the opportunity to hit the thing over and over again until Steve is yelling at him to stop. 

Billy drops the bat and backs up a few steps, not sure what he just did or why he even had to. “What… what the fuck _is_ that?” He is stunned at how soft he’s talking and then wonders if he screamed himself hoarse at some point. 

Steve pushes the thing off of him and sits up. He stands and futilely tries to brush some of the mud off of him. He walks slowly toward Billy and stops to stoop and pick up the bat and the backpack he’d dropped earlier before continuing his journey toward the shocked boy. “Billy… it’s okay. I can explain.”

“You can explain?! Seriously?! Because that was…. That was… What the _fuck_ was that?” 

“A demodog. There are more coming and we have to get to cover so you’re going to need to have this breakdown later, okay?”

As if on cue, they hear growling coming their way and Billy tries to get into his car again, but drops his car keys as his hands shake. “Oh fuck me…”

Steve sees movement out of the corner of his eye and knows they’re dead if they take the time to look for the keys. Steve shoves at Billy’s shoulder. “Run!”

He’s frozen for a moment, but then Steve grabs him and starts dragging him along. Soon Billy is sprinting after Steve and at some point, is shoved in front of the other boy, who starts yelling out directions. Billy has no clue where he’s going, but decides he doesn’t actually care as long as he doesn’t have to look at one of those fucked up dogs again. He figures at least one gets close because he hears Steve yell to keep running straight and then his voice say something taunting before there is the thud of the bat hitting something, followed by a yelp. 

Steve is suddenly by his side again and pointing the way toward a large shed. “There! Get in there and I can get backup. Go go go!”

Billy sprints for the door and struggles to pull it open, finally succeeding and falling into the room. Steve follows, staying on his feet, and reaches behind him and flips the latch before taking a walkie out and relaying his location to whoever is on the other side of the device. Billy had scrambled backward when he fell and now gets up and looks toward the window. He can just make out the creatures as they stop and sniff the air before turning and bolting off toward something else. 

“Here. Take this so we can get our bearings.” Steve presses a flashlight into Billy’s hands. “Don’t point it at the window.” 

Billy lets out a sigh of relief as he fumbles with the light. “Shit… shit, that was… I mean that was _intense_….” He turns around, focusing the light, and frowns as Steve, finally able to see his condition. 

Steve is leaning heavily against the wall, clutching his side and looking down. 

“Steve?” He frowns as he sees the red stain getting bigger on his shirt. “Hey… you’re bleeding!”

Steve looks up, almost startled that Billy is still there. He tries to focus on the other boy and holds out his hand, covered in blood, to inspect it. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

Billy frowns and then barely gets to Steve in time as the injured boy’s eyes roll back and he drops to the floor. Billy manages to stop his head from bouncing off the floor and cradles the back of his scalp as the flashlight rolls away. “Steve? Shit, don’t do this, man!” He grabs at the flashlight and aims it at Steve again. He sees the blood soaking Steve’s shirt and lifts it to see the wound. He hisses in sympathy when he sees the torn flesh. “Ouch… that must hurt.” He hears growling in the distance and he shakes Steve a bit in case the sounds get closer. “Please get up…”

Billy stands and grabs the bat from the floor before looking around to see if he can find anything else to use against the monsters that were chasing them. “I refuse to believe it’s going to end like this! Come on, King Steve! You really want to go out because you were too much of a bitch to fight?” He kicks the bottom of Steve’s shoe and nearly cries out in relief when the other boy moans and opens his eyes. “Jesus, Harrington…. Can you move?”

Steve nods and slowly gets up. “Shit… I feel like I got hit by a truck.”

“You’ll be fine. I promise,” he lies because he has no clue whether either one of them is going to live through the night. “Right now, I need your help if we’re going to get out of this.”

Steve takes the flashlight and looks around and points out a few things, telling Billy to go get them while he works. He hands the light back to Billy to aim while he works and puts the various items together and Billy can only watch in wonder. Steve sees him looking and smirks, holding up a crude but terrifying looking flame thrower of sorts. “You won’t die. Not on my watch.” 

Billy rolls his eyes. “Settle down there, Terminator.”

Steve sighs. “I’ve been fighting these things for what seems like forever. It’s…” He frowns. “It’s what we were dealing with that night you came to the house and beat the shit out of me. We left you there so we could go and distract those things… And it worked. Thanks to your temper, Max had to drive your car. Scared the hell out of me, but she’s a pretty damn good driver.”

Billy shakes his head. “You should have told me earlier. I could have helped you!”

“All I knew is that you were an abusive racist scumbag. And if I was wrong, you weren’t doing anything to prove my mistake to me. So… I just didn’t bother changing my mind.” He turns toward the door as something starts slamming into it. He moves in front of Billy. “Stay behind me. I’ve got this.”

Just as the door slams open, Steve ignites the flame on his makeshift flame thrower. It’s spotty, but it does the job and the demodog howls. Two more come up behind it and snarl and Billy ignores Steve’s order to stand beside him instead. One ducks under the flame and lunges for Steve just in time to get a face full of nails from the bat Billy is still wielding. As it slams against the wall, Steve’s flame goes out. Before he can trigger another stream, one of the dogs is on top of him. Billy slams that one in the side, killing it, and then stands over Steve, his legs spread on either side of Steve’s waist, ready to shield him if possible as one more creature heads for the door. 

Thankfully, Hopper and the others burst onto the scene. The weird girl is standing there with her nose bleeding and Hopper empties his gun into the last demodog. When all is said and done, Billy moves away and watches the others react to Steve, who is unconscious again. 

Max nearly growls. “What did you _do_ to him, Billy?”

Lucas wraps his arms around her, trying to calm her while Dustin rushes to Steve’s side. Mike is focused on the weird girl and Hopper kneels down opposite of Dustin. He looks at Billy. “What happened?”

Billy tells them all the shortened version, leaving out the concern he showed for the mighty King. He glares at Max. “I can’t believe you were doing all this shit and didn’t say a fucking word.”

“I don’t trust you, asshole.” 

Hopper interrupts, annoyed with their bickering. “Hey! I can’t stop the bleeding!” He looks over at Billy. “Help me get him into my truck. There’s room for him to lie down.” 

Billy nods and scoops Steve up, not really needing any help at all. He nods toward the bat. “Someone get that.” He walks out, Hopper following close behind. Dustin grabs the bat and then heads out, the others on his heels. 

Billy gets Steve into the truck and climbs in next to him. Hopper doesn’t even attempt to deal with Dustin and just tells the boy to get in the front. He looks around. “I need something to stop the bleeding and with you two in here, I can’t squeeze everyone in the truck.” 

Billy pulls off his jacket. “I got it.” He frowns. “Wait!” He turns toward Max, who is standing with the others. “Max! My car is over by the edge of the woods. I dropped my keys, but they should be right by the car. Drive over to Steve’s house and wait for us to get back.”

Max’s eyes widen. “Your car?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know how to fucking drive it, shitbird! Harrington already told me. But will you be safe to get there?”

She nods. “Yeah, we have El with us. We’ll be fine. Just fucking go!” 

Billy starts pressing a clean edge of his jean jacket into the wound and frowns as Steve moans in pain. Hopper starting his vehicle and taking off barely registers as Billy focuses on trying to stem the bleeding. “God dammit, Harrington, what were you thinking? You could have been killed.” 

Dustin is turned around, watching. “He does that. Like in the tunnels…”

“Tunnels? Is that what he was talking about with trying to distract those things?”

“Yeah, we went there and we did what we went there to do, but… then the dogs started coming at us and Steve… he just kept helping everyone get up and out. He never tried to get out himself. And when they came… when he and I were both standing there, he just wrapped his arms around me and tried to shield me. He tried to push me up against the wall, I guess to limit how many ways they had to get me, but… then they rushed past. I really thought we were going to die.”

Billy looks at Steve. “Genuine hero, huh?” He shakes his head. “Look, Harrington, we can get you fixed up in no time, but you gotta wake up.” 

He stays silent the rest of the ride, but gets irate when they get to the hospital and people try and pull Steve away from him. “Sir, we need to help your friend.”

“He’s not my friend. But I _am_ holding this pressure to his injury so you might want to leave me stay here for a bit.”

The hospital staff are annoyed, but ultimately agree. They carefully remove Steve from the vehicle and get him on a gurney. A nurse walks over with a clean towel and moves quickly to replace the muddy jean jacket. 

As Steve is rushed off with Hopper spinning some bullshit about a bear, Billy sits down in the lobby. He’s not sure how long he sits there, staring at his blood and mud soaked jacket, but he knows that it’s long enough for the sun to rise. He flinches as the first ray of light breaks through and blinds him momentarily. He rubs his eyes, not sure if he was really sitting and staring that long or if he fell asleep. He looks around and sees Hopper sitting on the other side of the room. 

“Hey kid, I can take you home.”

Billy shakes his head. “Not really the place I want to be right now. But if you can call my dad and make up a really good excuse so I don’t get my ass handed to me for being out all night, I’d appreciate it.”

Hopper nods. “Alright, then at least let me take you to where the kids are. You can probably use a hot shower and a change of clothes.”

“And you _can’t_? You smell like the bear you insist attacked Steve. What’s that shit about?”

Hopper moves closer. “There are reasons we don’t talk about it. If it gets out, we’ll be in more danger. And with Steve in the hospital right now, it won’t be hard for someone to get to him.”

Billy stands up at that. “Fuck it. I’m staying.”

Hopper frowns. “Whoa, wait just a-“

“Seriously, you smell like shit. Go and check on the brats and make sure they’re relatively clean. I’ll stay here until I hear from the doctor.”

Hopper narrows his eyes in suspicion, but ultimately grunts and nods his head. He tosses Billy the backpack Steve was carrying. “You call me once the doctor comes out and gives you an update. I told them you were his brother.” 

Billy watches the man leave and then informs the nurse that he’s running to the bathroom and will be right back. While in there, he cleans himself up as well as he can. He’s a little bit stunned at just how wrecked he looks, but he knows that Steve looks worse.

Once he comes out, he’s told that Steve is being taken to a room and that a doctor will speak with Billy within the next five minutes. He sits and waits only a minute or two before the doctor comes out. “You’re Steve’s brother?”

Billy is about to say no, but then remembers what Hopper had told him. “Yeah… yeah, is he alright?”

“We got him stitched up and he’s resting now. We tried to put him under for surgery, but he wouldn’t allow it. We had to sedate him, I’m afraid. That’s why it’s taken so long to come and get you.”

“What do you mean? Sedated him?” 

“He woke up and fought with us so we had to hold him down and give him something to calm him. Then we were able to open him up and repair the damage to his body.”

“What _is_ the damage to his body?” Billy is starting to get nervous as the doctor seems to be taking her sweet time telling him what’s wrong. 

“Nothing internal, thankfully. This animal missed all of his vital organs… barely, but missed them all the same. The blood loss could have been much more severe without your quick thinking, young man. I hope your brother appreciates you.” She smiles. 

“Yeah… yeah, I think he does. So can I see him?”

The doctor frowns. “Yes, but you should know that we did have to restrain him, for his own good.”

“Why did you restrain him?” Billy frowns as his voice comes out a bit more panicked that he’d like. 

“He wouldn’t stop fighting. When he woke up from surgery, he ripped out his IV… twice. And we had to sedate him again, which isn’t the safest option considering how many things we’d already done to his system, but he left us little choice. Maybe, when he wakes again, you can convince him to let us help him. At this rate, he’s going to open up those stitches and I don’t think he can handle any more blood loss.”

Billy nods in understanding. “I’d like to see him.”

The doctor gives him the room number where Steve was taken after recovery and Billy heads up and finds the room rather quickly. He walks in and sees Steve laid out on the bed, an IV in his arm and an oxygen mask on his face. The steady appearing and disappearing of condensation letting him know that Harrington is breathing well. 

He walks over and looks at his hands and then those of the brunette, bound in restraints at his wrists. “You know… I thought I was the one with the hands of steel. Then you go and beat a monster down with a bat and a homemade flame thrower and I can’t even hold on to my keys.” He scoffs. “Okay, I’m showering in here and then I’m stealing some scrubs. Well, maybe I should steal the scrubs first…” He smirks and then sneaks out of the room and down to the linen closet a few doors down. He grabs some scrubs that look to be his size and then comes back in the room to shower and change. He walks out no more than 10 minutes later to see Steve sitting up, restraints missing, without his oxygen mask and pulling at his IV. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Steve glances up quickly, startled that someone is there with him. “Uh… leaving, Hargrove.” He smirks at Billy’s outfit. “I mean… doctor.” He pulls the IV out as carefully as he can and hisses in pain as it releases from his skin. 

Billy runs over and closes the door to the room before turning to stare at the other boy. “Harrington! Get back into bed!” He rushes forward and pushes Steve back. “Jesus, you just got out of fucking surgery, you know.” It isn’t difficult to manhandle Steve down onto the bed since he’s still woozy from the sedative.

Steve arches an eyebrow. “Didn’t know you cared.”

Billy narrows his eyes. “I don’t, but you saved my life… a couple of times and I’m trying to make up for it, but I’m at least one behind so… I’m here.”

“We can call it even.” He pushes Billy gently and attempts and fails to sit up. “I need to go.”

“Why?”

Steve studies him. “My parents. They’re coming home tomorrow night…” He looks over at the window and sees that it’s daylight. “…tonight. I need to be there. The house is a mess and I’m not… I’m not willing to deal with the fallout if it’s not clean enough when I get home.”

Billy licks his upper lip as he thinks about it. “Nobody mentioned anything about your parents being around.”

“They don’t know. I don’t tell them. It’s how I avoid my parents meeting anyone.”

Billy crosses his arms. “Why wouldn’t you want your friends meet the great and powerful Harringtons?”

Steve shrugs. “Nothing that great or powerful to see. They’re just people with their own set of problems.”

Billy laughs. “Yeah, okay. Wish I had those problems, like about a million of them. You think you can get them to part with some of those?”

Steve looks up at him and loses himself a moment and then shakes his head and smiles. “Yeah, yeah, that’s a good one.”

Billy frowns. He’s done that. He’s come close to talking about his father with someone only to act like everything is fine. “They knock you around or something?”

Steve sighs. “Something.”

Billy looks down at his shoes, considering all the possibilities of that answer, none of them good. “I’ll go to your house and get it clean for you.” He looks up again and points his finger into Steve’s face. “But only if you stay put.”

Steve studies Billy for a bit and then nods. “Fine, but I’m out of here tonight.”

Billy sighs. “Fine.” He grabs his things and shoves them into the plastic bag alongside Steve’s belongings. “I’ll bring you clean clothes later.” He walks out the door as Steve drops into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy learns that he's not the only one with an awful father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no physical abuse in this chapter... not really. It's more like physical intimidation so please be safe when reading.

Billy cleans the house up a little and then finds Harrington’s room and changes the sheets on the bed. He goes into the bathroom attached to the room and takes one of the nicest showers, full of hot water and no fear of it getting chilled. He dries off, sets the alarm by the bed, and falls into the softness of a rich kid’s bed. 

Hours later, he gets up in plenty of time to give the house a much better cleaning. As he’s getting ready to go back to the hospital, Steve walks in. 

“Why are you _here?_”

Steve lifts an eyebrow. “Why are _you_ here?” He moves toward the stairs. He’s not limping or struggling, but his movements are stiff enough that Billy can tell he’s hurting. “Hey, it looks great in here. Thanks for taking care of it for me. I have some time to shower before the parents get here. You should probably be gone by then.” 

Billy can’t help himself. “You sure you’re alright?”

Steve nods. “Pain pills here rival any pharmacy. I’ll get through it. I always do.” He walks upstairs and disappears into his room. 

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

Billy spends the next five months trying to pretend that he doesn’t know anything about monsters or other worlds or anything else that can cause him to have nightmares. He stays away from Steve “Golden Boy King” Harrington and tries to be nicer to Max so his father won’t get on his ass as often. And it works. A few shoves, one or two slaps, and then it all stops. Once he turns 18, Neil realizes that he needs Billy more than Billy needs him. Billy has a job and can do whatever he wants without his father’s signatures and permissions. 

But Neil doesn’t want to pick up the slack taking care of Max. He mentioned employing the services of Harrington once the boy also turns 18, but something about the whole thing sets Billy’s teeth on edge. He doesn’t trust his father and part of him wonders if he’ll try to find ways to blackmail Harrington in order to get more money than he probably needs. 

He also doesn’t want to have to pay for oil changes and basic auto repair. So he invites Billy to stay and Billy agrees because he likes knowing that Max is safe and he can only really know that when he’s at home and safe. 

Billy Hargrove is not happy with his stepsister at the moment. No, that’s not strong enough. He hates her. He’s spent the whole school year leaving her and her jerk friends alone and he’s steered clear of Steve “Golden Boy King” Harrington. It’s been easier than usual as Harrington’s parents had been around more often than not. He only knows this because Max keeps mentioning the summer and how she might finally get to meet them if they go over to use his pool. She’s grumpy a lot more, too, and talks about how Steve never takes them anywhere anymore because his parents want him home and preparing for his future or some shit.

And yet after all of that, after he’s done _everything_ she wanted, she manages to fuck up his life even more. Now school is out and she’s playing a new game. Leaving Steve alone isn’t good enough anymore. He needs to find a way to be _friends_ with the asshole and that’s impossible. Billy has not clue how to talk to this jackass. They haven’t interacted since that night and even less once Steve started baseball. Granted, Steve is a fucking superstar in that sport and even Billy has to give him credit, but still… they don’t _talk_. And why would they?

Billy’s mom left. Steve _has_ a mom who is around now more than ever. 

Billy’s dad is a monster. Steve’s dad gives Steve _everything. _

Billy lives in a shit home that’s falling apart more often than not. Steve lives in a _mansion. _

Billy has a piece of shit annoying stepsister. Steve is an only child and gets all the attention. 

Billy has to work for the summer. Steve will work on his _tan._

Billy has an acceptance letter to a community college. Steve probably has a free ride to an Ivy League school.

Billy finally gets sick of Max threatening his dick with the promise of going to get the bat from hell and leaves that evening, hoping Steve is out somewhere so he can say he tried in order to stall her for awhile longer. He parks a bit down the road from the house, but soon finds out that it’s not a road at all, but a long-as-fuck driveway. He makes the trek until he finally sees the house loom in front of him. He starts toward the front door and pauses. There is Steve’s pretentious car, but it’s parked next to one of the most beautiful machines he’s ever seen. He whispers like a prayer, “Ferrari 308 GTS… fuck…” His hand hovers over the smooth metal and he almost touches it. Almost. He’s too afraid that alarms are going to go off if he breathes on it too hard. He backs away and shakes his head. Steve Harrington is _the_ luckiest son of a bitch he’s ever known. 

He goes toward the back of the house, thinking that maybe he can surprise Steve and some Hawkins High cow by the pool. Or better yet, meet his mom and see if he can be her pool boy. Hell, the pay would probably be worth it to have Steve’s own mom lusting after him. 

He frowns, disappointed, when nobody is by the pool, which is oddly lit by the lights in the water. He glances toward the patio doors and is walking over when he hears the latch being thrown. He races over to hide in the small space in the corner of the pool area, not wanting someone to think he was casing the place and also hoping to get a peek into the fascinating world of the Harringtons. He pulls the door closed just a tiny bit so he can get a clear view. The darkness hides him well so he doesn’t have anything to fear unless someone decides to come in, but he wouldn’t know for what. As he looks around the space to evaluate his chances of being found out, he rolls his eyes. _Seriously? They have a _shower_ outside by the pool? God I hate these people._

Steve walks out then, clearly agitated, a glass full of what looks to be some sort of liquor in his hand. Billy has to admit that Steve looks more jaded than he did when he first met him. Steve has always been someone that Billy considers naïve and not quite present. He's either seemed above it all as if he doesn't notice the nuances of social interaction that goes on around him or he seems to try too hard, as if he's running from something. It's been different lately. The last five months have really taken more of a toll, Billy thinks. It’s not that he doesn’t know what’s happening around him, it’s more like he doesn’t care. 

Billy’s thoughts are interrupted as an older man, wearing a suit that probably is worth more than Billy’s father makes in a year, follows and he can only imagine that this is the great Mr. Jason Harrington. The build is larger than Steve’s and he looks like he could be a very dangerous man in a boxing ring. Steve has strength, as evidenced by his baseball stats, but he’s lean where this man is large and solid.

Steve takes a swallow of his drink and then spins around to glare at the man. “Oh my _God_! Can you just leave me alone!?”

“Don’t take that tone with me, Steven.”

Steve looks like he’s about to vibrate his skin right off his body from the rage that he’s holding onto. Billy holds his breath. He knows that he’d get a slap to the face or the back of the head if he said that shit to his father. 

“What tone? The one that says I’m sick of you and your shit?” He downs the rest of the alcohol and Billy has to admit he’s impressed. Whatever that liquor is, Steve just drank a shit ton of it in two swallows. 

To Billy’s surprise, the man only stands up straighter and adjusts his tie. “Are you finished?” The cold sound of the voice unnerves him. He realizes the older man has only sounded… bored while talking. Billy isn’t sure what that’s about. 

Steve's rage seems to shift to desperation.

“No, I’m _not_ finished! I… I had parties here! _Lots_ of them! We drank and got high and fucked on your bed, you piece of shit!”

The man sighs deeply. “If you get drunk and high every night, it doesn’t affect me, does it? And as for the sex in the bed, that’s fine. We pay housekeeping for a reason.”

Steve hangs his head, clearly unhinged by the comment. “I… I nearly died last year. Near… near Thanksgiving. You didn’t even notice my injuries.” He looks up at his father then and Billy can tell in the glow of the lights that the other boy is worse than desperate. He's hanging on by a thread and the guilt that Billy may have had something to do with pushing him closer to the edge eats at the blonde.

Steve’s father folds his arms over his chest. “Is that so?”

“I was in a fight and-”

“And you lost. I remember. Your mother told me. And I didn't notice your injuries because I was only home for a day and you barely came out of your room. Your mother was in there coddling you the whole time. I'm sure she continued to do so after I left so I don't know why you're whining. You get all the attention you need from _her_. And then some.”

Steve winces at the comment and then nods. “Yes, but it was bad. I had a concussion and there are still… side effects. The doctor I went to… after mom left again, said I would have been dead if I’d been hit just one or two more times. It was… it was close.”

The older man sighs and Billy is stunned since even he didn’t know it was that bad. He has to wonder why _he’s_ having more of a reaction than Steve’s father. 

The older man, who bears less and less of a resemblance to Steve the longer Billy observes him, looks at Steve for a beat and then shakes his head. “Clearly, you didn’t die.”

“But-“

“But nothing. There is no reason to talk about things that serve no purpose.” He takes a step toward Steve. “Is there, Steven?” Billy thinks that the man is about to hit him, but instead he stands there, stoic. 

Steve looks at his father and his eyes are wet and pleading, but finally he looks down. “No, sir.” In the light, Billy sees a tear drop down Steve’s face. 

“Is it true that you got a job at the mall this summer?”

Steve looks up quickly and his voice trembles. “No, sir.”

His father takes a deep breath and sighs as if annoyed. “I would hope not. It’s bad enough that I have to find someone willing to take my money to get you into a school.”

“I told you, I was hurt. I couldn’t… Nothing made sense.”

“Come now. You couldn’t pull a decent grade before this so-called incident. And you know why.”

“Come on…”

“You _know_ why, don’t you, Steven?”

Steve mutters something that Billy can’t hear and apparently the elder Harrington couldn’t either as he leans into Steve a bit more. “I didn’t hear you.”

Billy is suddenly reminded of his own father and bites down on his lower lip to stop himself from saying something to defend Harrington. He knows from his own experience that it will only make things worse. 

“Because… Because I’m stupid.”

Billy's eyes widen. He starts to realize why Steve has worked so hard to be popular at school. His own _father_ doesn't even seem to like him. The teens who followed Steve around probably gave him the only affection that he had. _And I took that from him._

“Because you’re stupid…?”

Steve takes a deep breath. “Because I’m stupid… sir.”

Steve’s father takes a step back. “That’s right. You screwed up your grades because you can’t do anything right, Steven. I think we’ve established that. I have done nothing but support you.”

“You… you didn’t even acknowledge my graduation. You called me three days later and I had to tell _you_!”

Another exasperated sigh. “You did no such thing.”

Steve’s eyes widen. “But… it was last week! I remember it because I-“

“You said you had a head injury.” Steve’s father tsks at him. “Oh Steven, I told the men at the office that you make things up, but I was hoping you had grown out of it by now.”

“_I didn’t make it up!_”

“Great, now you’re argumentative. I can’t win with you. I come home to see you and then you do these things. Maybe you’ll go out one day and there will be a ‘for sale’ sign out front. What do you think of that? What would you do then? Don't forget how much you need me.” 

Steve frowns and starts to walk around his father to go inside, only to be stopped by the older man moving into his path. 

“Did I dismiss you?”

Steve moves again, jumping lightly over one of the deck chairs to avoid his father. “Fuck you.”

His father follows him inside, the screen door the only thing between Billy and the two Harringtons. He moves closer to get another view of what’s going on. He’s shaking as the scene in front of him makes him think so much of his father but at the same time not at all. There’s no anticipation of a hit with Neil. Billy knows that when his father is irritated with him, he’s most likely going to get slapped or grabbed, but this is so tense and even Billy feels like he might vomit if Steve’s father doesn’t let loose soon. 

When Billy looks in, he’s grateful for the lamps that hide any shadow he might cast. Steve is leaning against the wall by the stairs, a bottle of something in his hand that he must have grabbed from the liquor cabinet on the way into the house, as his father talks to him about respect and not using foul language when talking to him. It drags on and on and Billy can almost _see_ Steve becoming smaller and smaller as his father tears him down. He also sees the moment that Steve snaps and the words fall out of his mouth. “I _hate_ you!”

The punch comes faster than Billy can see and the loud sound causes him to jump. Steve is uninjured, but the wall right next to his head is dented. His father leans in and Billy hears the hateful words. “Do you see what you make me do? Do you even _know_ how lucky you are? Some men punch their children. I don’t hit you. That means something. I’m a damn good father. God knows you deserve to be smacked around. Putting up with you and I haven’t done that. You should appreciate me.”

Steve shakes his head. “You want me to nominate you for sainthood or something?”

Billy can hear the tremble in Steve’s voice. He’s trying to play it cool, but he can tell the other boy is terrified. 

“There you go… playing the victim again. God, Steven, don’t you understand?” He leans in close again and places his hands on either side of the brunette so he can’t get away. He speaks low and it’s frightening to hear. “You are _nothing_ and you will _always_ be nothing. You need to remember that the only reason you have any worth is because of me and my generosity and the fact that your mother is fond of you for some reason. Nobody will ever want you. How many girls have dumped you? Even that Wheeler trash knew. You weren’t even good enough for _her_.”

Steve turns his face because his father’s face is right in his. “Please don’t say that.”

“Say what? The truth? You’re a loser, Steven. You were born into the wrong family. Your brother… he was…” He steps back. “Well, we’ll never know, will we? You made sure of that.”

“I… I didn’t…”

“You killed him and you know it.”

Billy furrows his brow. This is new and he has to wonder why Steve has never talked about a brother or why he never heard about it at school. If Steve's dad blames him, then it must have happened not that long ago.

Steve shakes his head. “Please don’t start this again.”

“You were supposed to stay away from the pool, weren’t you?”

Steve nods. “Yes, sir.”

“And you didn’t. You went out there and he died… he died because of you.”

“_I was three years old!_”

Billy is shocked. He doesn't even _remember_ being three and this guy is blaming Steve for a murder.

Steve’s father’s lips are almost touching Steve’s face due to how close he is. “_YOU KILLED HIM!_”

Steve sobs then and, as his father steps back, he slides to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

The elder Harrington brushes the sleeves of his jacket as if even being near Steve makes him dirty somehow. “Sorry for what, Steven?”

“I’m sorry.. for killing Seth.” 

“Jason?” A woman’s voice comes from upstairs and Steve looks up. 

The man squats down in front of Steve. “You upset her or tell her how you forced me into an argument on our visit home, it means you don’t love her or your wealth. I’ll make it go away, you hear me?”

Steve nods as Jason walks upstairs. Billy watches as Steve pulls his knees to his chest and sobs. Billy can’t help but think that he looks like a lost little boy and he takes a step back. Apparently Steve has a shit life, too, and he never even considered the possibility of it. He takes a deep breath and then knocks lightly on the side of the patio door, wondering if there’s anything he can do to help or if Harrington will tell him to go straight to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it! There will be a lot of Billy/Steve interaction in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy talks to Steve and then gets some information from Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to child abuse in this one, but mostly just vague about what Billy witnessed. 
> 
> I am still writing! This crazy situation I'm in is a blessing AND I'm overwhelmed. LOL. But writing is really helpful to me and eventually when I'm on bedrest, I'll be writing all the time. Until then, I'll try and keep up. :)

Steve’s head snaps up at the sound. The look of fear is quickly replaced by confusion and then humiliation. But within seconds, he lets a mask of indifference slip into place and stands, turning away only to wipe his eyes. He opens the screen door and pokes his head out. “What do you want, Hargrove?”

Billy is impressed. Steve’s ability to hide the pain in his life rivals his own. “Are you alright?”

Steve narrows his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Billy shakes his head. He’s not going to push. He’s been in the same position and if he pushes, Steve will shut him out for good. “No reason. You have time for a smoke?”

Steve stares at Billy for a moment, as if looking for signs of deceit, clearly not having the energy for games. He glances back toward the stairs and then nods. “I suppose. But only if you have the smokes.”

Billy smirks. “Always.” He pulls the cigarettes out of his pocket and shakes the pack lightly. “Almost full.”

Steve glances toward the stairs again and then opens the door the rest of the way so he can step out. He closes the glass door in order to keep the smell out of the house and gestures to the loungers before walking over and adjusting one of them so he can sit down. He looks over to Billy, who is still standing above him. “Well?”

Billy bites the inside of his cheek lightly. He wants to confront Harrington on what he just saw. He wants to bond with this pretty rich boy over asshole fathers. He wants to help Steve discover that he’s not alone. While seeing Steve being abused by his father was certainly not pleasant, there is a relief that comes from knowing that there is someone out there who understands. 

But he waits because he’s willing to let Steve run the show tonight. He sits down next to him and faces him before handing him a cigarette. He lights his own and then hands the lighter to Steve. Lighting it for him seems too intimate at the moment. Billy considers telling him why he came, but isn’t sure how to broach the subject. Steve beats him to it. 

“Max alright?”

The question catches Billy off guard and he looks over at the other boy, who is reclined and staring up at the night sky. “Yeah, she’s fine. Why?”

Steve shrugs and takes a long drag of his cigarette. Billy can see now that the alcohol is making the other boy relaxed and a little sluggish. “Not sure why else you’d be here.”

Billy leans forward, elbows on his knees, and attempts to come up with a way to tell him what’s going on without looking like a five year old who pulled someone’s pig tails and being forced by their parents to apologize. He gives up after about a minute of silence. “Max said I have to apologize and be friends with you.”

Steve’s bark of laughter isn’t unexpected and the sound of it helps Billy realize just how ridiculous he sounded now that he’s said it out loud. He can’t help but smile when Steve looks at him. “Seriously? She sent you over here to make nice?”

Billy nods and runs a hand through his hair. He laughs softly. “Yeah, well… she can be pretty demanding.” He tilts his head as he studies Steve. “Is the idea too stupid to try?”

Steve glances at him and then away again before shaking his head. “Nah, not too stupid. Just not sure why you’d want to be my friend. If you think you have to in order for me to help you out when you get into a rough spot, you don’t. You’re Max’s brother. That means something to me. I’m never going to let anything happen to you if I can help it.” 

Billy isn’t sure how to respond. He is caught between indignation at the idea that he has an ulterior motive and shock at just how kind Steve Harrington is. “I… Oh, I mean that’s… “ He fumbles for the words and scrambles to find something that will keep Steve outside with him instead of inside that house. In the end, he fails. 

Steve sits up slowly and then stands, looking down at Billy. “Thanks for the smoke. I don’t mind how long you sit out here, but do me a favor and don’t be here when my parents wake up.” He glances toward the woods. “And get Max’s walkie and let me know when you’re home.” He walks inside and shuts the door. 

Billy hears the lock click into place and glances out at the woods, as well. He remembers the fear from that night and it isn’t more than a minute before he’s quickly heading away and back toward home. He’s lost in his thoughts for most of the way and manages to hop into his window undetected by Neil. He quietly makes his way to Max’s room and nudges her. “Hey Max….”

Max moans and rolls over, looking up at him. She blinks a few times and then rolls again, putting her back toward him. “What?”

“Can I borrow your walkie?”

“No.”

Billy isn’t expecting that answer and looks around the room as if he’s trying to find someone else who is as shocked as he is. He’s about to yell at her, but then remembers Steve saying that he would protect him if only because he’s Max’s brother. He sighs. “Max, Steve wanted to know if I got home safe. I don’t want him to worry so just… let him know.” He turns and leaves, not realizing that Max has turned back over, her eyes wide. 

“Wait… you talked to Steve?”

Billy stops and looks back toward her. When he sees her staring at him in the dim light from outside, he nods. “Yeah… yeah, I went over to see him. It’s… I mean it was eye opening.”

She sits up and points toward her backpack. “Walkie’s in there.”

Billy nods his thanks and rummages lightly through the backpack, the walkie being easy to find. He studies it, but it’s too dark for him to tell what he’s doing. “Uh… can you help me with this?”

Max doesn’t say anything for a little bit and then nods as if she’s wary of the kindness coming from her brother. “Yeah, sure…” She holds out her hand for it and takes it quickly when Billy hands it over. She looks over to him. “You want to tell him?”

He nods. “Yeah, sure. Yeah, just show me how?”

Max sits all the way up and makes room for Billy. She watches him the entire time he moves to the bed and sits down. Then she slowly shows him how to use the walkie until he feels comfortable. He listens to her explain how Dustin expects them to use it and finally takes a deep breath. 

“Steve?” He frowns and then pushes the button again. “Over.”

Max smiles as he rolls his eyes. 

He waits for a bit longer and then tries again. “Steve? Over.”

“Billy? Billy, are you at home? Over.” Steve sounds out of breath and Billy frowns at the implications. 

“Yeah, I’m home. I’m okay. Are _you_?”

“I’m… Yeah, I was downstairs and I heard you. I forgot to bring it down with me so I had to run upstairs.”

“Sorry about that. You told me to call.”

Dustin breaks through then. “Hey! There are rules. If you’re going to wake me up with your conversations, you have to use proper protocol! Over.”

Max grabs the walkie. “Dustin, Billy is new at this. He didn’t know. Over.”

Steve comes back on, sheepish. “Sorry, Dustin. Over.”

Billy stares at Max as if everyone has lost their minds. “Is this always how it goes?”

Max nods. “Yeah, walkie protocol seriously is the biggest thing in Dustin’s life.”

Billy rolls his eyes and takes the walkie. “Steve, why were you still downstairs anyway? When I left you at home, I thought you were headed to bed. Over.”

“Yeah… yeah, uh… sorry. I just didn’t feel like turning in yet. Sometimes it’s easier to -.”

Billy and Max hear a soft voice through the walkie. “Stevie? You up, baby?”

“Fuck.” Steve is whispering now. “Gotta go.” 

There’s a definitive click and then Billy stares at the walkie and then at Max. “So this guy really worries about everyone like this?”

Max shrugs. “He cares about people.” She gestures for him to talk again. 

Billy takes a deep breath. “Steve? You okay? Over.” He waits for a long time and doesn’t hear anything. He frowns and calls again. This time it’s Dustin who answers. 

“Did he leave without saying over and out? You guys… We can’t hold civil conversations if you don’t follow the rules. Steve, if you’re listening, I’m very disappointed in you. If you’re not… well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow about this breach in walkie etiquette. Over and out.”

Billy looks at Max again. “Wow….”

Max shrugs. “We’re all used to it.” She picks at a thread on her blanket. “So… how did your visit actually go with him?”

Billy puts the walkie back and considers the question. “I mean… we talked. I don’t know that we’re best friends or anything close, but I definitely think we may have reached some sort of understanding.”

“I hope that’s true, Billy. He really needs someone like you right now. You’re tougher than the rest of us.” 

Billy chuckles. “Sorry, but you have been fighting actual monsters for awhile now so… not sure how you figure that.”

“I mean…” She frowns and tries to determine how to tell Billy what’s going on without making too many assumptions. She knows her instincts are good, but she also doesn’t want people thinking she’s trying to start something. 

Billy nudges her shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on? I may not really like you that much, but… I don’t want to see you hurt. Is something happening? Are there more of these monsters? What?”

She shakes her head. “No. Nothing like that. It’s Steve. He… He’s really nice and he helps us with everything.”

“And this is a problem?”

She smiles sadly. “Kind of. He won’t listen to us. He always does stuff for us but never lets us know how we can help _him_. We don’t really know how to make him let us, either.”

Billy nods, understanding. “What is it that you think he needs help with?”

There’s a bit of a hesitation and Billy is about to ask again when he finally gets a response. “I’m… I’m not sure. It’s just a feeling. Sometimes… sometimes he’s not himself. He’s withdrawn and it’s as if he cares about us and not himself at all. Or like he’s wishing there were monsters again so he can… I don’t know, it’s like he wants to fight something. But I can’t figure out why anyone would want to do that.”

Billy sighs. He knows exactly why. He did it when he beat the hell out of Harrington before and sometimes he still wants something to fight. But it’s not his place to tell Max that Steve’s dad is a rat bastard just like his. “Look, let me handle it, alright? I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to get involved too much. He seems kind of private and it might bug him to think of you seeing him as someone who needs help.”

“So… you mean he’s a stubborn asshole like you.”

Billy smirks. “Something like that.” He heads for the door, but doesn’t make it far. 

“Billy? You can go out my window… sometimes. I mean if you want. If you tell me, I can leave mine open for you, too, so you have an added way in or out.” She lays down on her side and looks at him. “And if you ever, like… need to bring him back here for whatever reason or stay there…. I’ll cover.”

He walks over and ruffles her hair. “I guess you’re not such a bitch.”

She slaps his hand away. “Jerk.” 

He laughs softly and heads to his room. Once he gets there, he lies back and stares out his own window at the stars that are visible. He wonders what Harrington is doing right now. The voice on his end was definitely female, but he can’t think of who it would be other than his mother. Steve didn’t seem frightened of his mother, but he did seem to want to protect her from knowing that he fought with his father. It’s an odd dynamic and he’s half wondering if Mrs. Harrington would be able to stand up to her husband. He decides to wait for an opportunity to meet Steve’s mom and judge for himself. If she seems like a good person, he’ll try to nudge Harrington toward finally talking to someone about his dick of a dad. 

He lets his mind wander a bit more and thinks about what else he heard tonight. Something about a brother and his death. He can’t imagine what a three year old could have done to make his dad blame him for a death, but he figures that’s something that he’s going to have to wait to find out about. Steve doesn’t even want to admit that his dad’s a jerk so he’s certain that he won’t want to walk down memory lane to share stories about his dead brother. As he falls asleep, his thoughts about Steve’s father mix with ones of his own and he’s not sure if he can hold himself back if he sees that man throw a punch at Steve’s head again. It’s as if Steve isn’t capable of defending himself and that’s just not fair in Billy’s book. Maybe he can find a way to even the playing field or at least make sure Harrington isn’t alone as much as he thinks he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already wrote most of the next chapter so I'm hoping to get that up tomorrow evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Incest/sexual abuse
> 
> Billy finds out more about Steve's life and attempts to save him from his living nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big triggers in this chapter for sexual assault/abuse/incest. This is in the tags so please read at your own risk. It's not graphic at this point, but it also leaves little to the imagination. Steve is very jaded in this and Billy is pretty out of character since I made him all sweet and protective. LOL. But I like him that way.

Billy continues to stop over at Steve’s house in the evening for the next two weeks. Sometimes he catches only a glimpse of the boy and other times he watches as Jason Harrington lectures Steve on being worthless and useless. Billy clenches his fists as he watches his once rival react after his father leaves. On the nights when it’s really bad, Billy doesn’t knock. He sits outside the door and smokes a cigarette, not willing to leave the brunette while broken sobs are ripped from his throat. Billy fights the urge to beat the shit out of Steve’s father on those nights, but also knows that Steve would resent the interference. On the nights when the elder Harrington’s snide remarks seem to roll off of Steve like they’re nothing, they share a cigarette by the pool. Steve pretends nothing is wrong and Billy lets him. 

One night, Billy hears Steve and his father talking about Mrs. Harrington. Billy has been intrigued about her since that first night, but he’s still never seen her. He’s only heard _about_ her during the fights. It seems as if she’s fragile or something and he half wonders if she’s physically ill and that’s why there’s so much anger directed at Steve. Or maybe she never recovered after the death of her son. Either way, it seems the men of the house tiptoe around her. 

When Steve’s father heads upstairs, Steve turns toward the patio door and Billy wonders if Steve’s started looking for him. He’s curious if Steve’s starting to figure out that he’s there even on the worst of nights. He’s never made a secret of it. He’s never hidden the smell of smoke, but Steve never comes outside and Billy doesn’t knock when it’s that bad. Perhaps, Billy thinks, it’s safer not to acknowledge it so they can both pretend that Billy’s never seen Steve that vulnerable. As Billy’s about to walk out from the shadows to tell Steve that he’s there, something catches his eyes. 

Apparently Steve notices, too, because he’s scrambling to wipe his eyes and Billy admits that he didn’t even realize he was crying. Maybe Steve was going to let Billy see the tears tonight. Maybe the friendship was going to deepen. But Billy can’t know that and this new distraction is definitely an unwelcome one. At least that’s what Billy thinks until he gets closer to the door. 

Billy watches as a woman descends the stairs wearing a silky floor length robe over a very short lacy nightgown. The robe is open but she makes half efforts to pull it around her which only results in one side dropping off of her shoulder. Billy thinks she looks fuckable as hell and then has to take a mental step back when he feels his attraction for her surpass what he would usually feel for any other older hot woman. The attraction continues, but he’s not sure where it’s aimed anymore. Mrs. Harrington might as well be a female version of Steve. Her hair is thick and wavy and the same color as his. Her eyes are large and brown. Her jaw isn’t defined like a man’s and she’s soft where Steve is angled. Their lips are the same, too. Billy frowns. When did he start noticing Steve’s lips? Jason’s voice comes from upstairs. “Rebecca? Come to bed soon.”

She turns a bit. “Yeah, baby. Just needed another drink.”

Billy sees the glass in her hand now with ice cubes clinking against the glass. “Mom, I’ll get it for you. Why don’t you sit down?” Steve stays close as if he’s trying to prepare to grab her if she stumbles. He takes the glass. Once she’s down the stairs, he goes over to the bar and starts to fill the glass, but then she’s heading toward the patio door and Billy scrambles to get into the pool shower again.   
She walks (trips) outside toward the pool and he’s half afraid she’s going to fall into the water, but then Steve is there and he’s placing the drink in her hand and pushing her into a lounge chair. “Mom, you need to go to bed.” He glances around and seems to be relieved not to see anyone waiting for him. Billy tries not to take that personally. Maybe he’s not the type of guy that Steve wants around his mom. Billy has to admit that he kind of gets it.

Rebecca Harrington shrugs and stretches out on the lounger. Billy’s mouth waters at her slim body and her long-as-hell legs. He has to admit once again that Steve’s mother is hot as fuck. Her eyes are dark from where her mascara has run and, as she arches her back, he breaks his stare long enough to notice that Steve quickly looks away from her. 

“Mom, please… please you need to go to bed.”

“Why? So I can lay there next to your father and wish…. Well, you know.”

“Mom, stop.” 

She reaches into her robe pocket and pulls something out that Billy can’t see. Steve moves fast and snatches something out of her hand. “Steve! Give them back! I need them!” Billy is shocked by the soft whispery voice becoming almost shrill.

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose and sits down in the other lounger, facing her much like Billy was facing him that first night. “No, you don’t. Mom, you can’t mix this shit. It’s going to kill you.”  
Rebecca Harrington laughs then. “I’m already dead.”

Steve drops his hand and looks at her sadly. Billy holds his breath for a minute. With Rebecca between him and Steve, he’s gifted with a full frontal view of Steve and his expressions. He has to admit that Steve wears his heart on his sleeve and his face, with his mother, betrays everything. And even though he’s sad, there’s a part of him that’s clearly giving up. “Please don’t say that. Come on, you have dad and me.”

“And not Seth. Never Seth.”

Steve runs a hand through his hair. “I know, mom. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, baby.”

Billy sighs in relief. At least Steve has _some_ love in his life. Jesus, if he’d known about Jason Harrington before, he and Steve could have shared a beer a long time ago. 

She reaches up and caresses Steve’s cheek. “Now… I need you to go upstairs in my bag –“ 

Steve stands up and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “No, mom. No.”

“You love me, don’t you? You love me, baby. Please? Please get my pills. I can’t sleep without them.”

“You’re drinking enough to fell an elephant.”

The shattering glass is the only thing that covers up Billy’s hand slapping against his own mouth as Steve’s mother hurls the glass at Steve, nailing him in the side of the head. Steve stumbles backward and holds his hand to his head. He doesn’t even seem to be upset. He removes his hand and Billy can see the blood trickling down the side of his face. “Mom, you have to calm down.”

“You called me an elephant, Steve!”

“No, I didn’t mean…” He sighs and wobbles a little as his head injury weakens him a bit. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re beautiful. You’re always beautiful, mom.” He walks back into the house and is gone for about five minutes before coming back with a broom. He hands her a pack of cigarettes and a lighter while he sweeps up the glass. Then he walks in again and brings back another glass for her. Billy notices that it’s not as dark as the last one was and wonders if it’s vodka or if Steve watered it down. But Steve has his own glass now that is full and the rich brown of whiskey. There’s no ice and Billy is certain that Steve probably deserves that drink more than anyone else. He sits on the other lounge chair so he’s now between Billy and his mother. Billy decides it’s probably smart since he might not have gotten all the glass up. Steve sets his drink down on the small table between them before reaching over for a cigarette. 

His mother hands one over and then the lighter. Billy actually feels kind of peaceful watching them. Steve and his mom relaxing by the pool enjoying a drink and a cigarette. Billy can’t see the side of Steve’s head where the glass hit anymore so he figures it might not be that bad. When Rebecca finally gets up, Billy assumes she’s going to bed, but instead she walks over and closes the patio door after pulling the curtains. He notices that Steve has gone deathly still and his mouth opens to say something and then shuts again and once more Billy is reminded of a little boy. 

Rebecca comes over and sits on the side of his lounger. “Let me see, Stevie.” She gently touches Steve’s head and he winces. “I’m so sorry. You know I don’t mean to do that. You’re my sweet boy. You’ve always been my sweet boy. When Seth died, your father… you know he stopped paying attention to me. But you… my sweet little boy. You made it all better, didn’t you?”

“Mom, come on. Why don’t you go rest on the lounger? I’ll stay out here with you.”

She moves. “I’ve missed you so much. Our visits don’t happen enough.” She stands, but then straddles Steve. 

“Mom, no!” He sits up, but she wraps her arms around him in a hug.

“Please just hug me, Steve! I need someone to touch me. Just once. Your father doesn’t anymore. He’s… he’s got his secretary for that.”

Billy’s eyes grow impossibly wide as he tries to wrap his mind around what he’s seeing. He watches as Steve’s mother starts moving her hips and Steve turns his head toward Billy’s hiding spot, his eyes shut tight. “Mom-“

“Mommy… Call me mommy, baby.”

Steve turns back to her and opens his eyes. “Mommy… please get the fuck off of me.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t mean that. Remember how I made you feel? Remember? And I taught you so many things. I was a good teacher. Please, baby.” She starts moving faster against him and she hikes his shirt up. “You know what will happen if your father finds out, right? You know he’ll think you did this to me. He’ll cut you off, throw you in jail, maybe even hurt you worse than you can imagine. He’s so mean to you, but I’ve always kept you safe, haven’t I?”

Steve nods. “Yeah… yeah, you have.”

“I held you when you cried and I hugged you and told you I loved you. And you needed me, didn’t you, baby? As much as I needed you.”

“I miss… I miss you.”

“I’m right here.” She grips his hand then and places it against her breast, but he yanks it away as if his hand burns. “No, come on… touch me.”

“Not like this. Please, mom. You’re _drunk_.” 

She grabs him then, her nails digging into his cheek and chin. “Look at me. _Look at me!_” When he does, she leans down and kisses him gently. “Don’t make me regret keeping your secret, Steve.”

He stares at her for what seems like forever and then reaches over and picks up his glass and downs it. Billy wants to vomit. He wants to beat his rival’s father into a bloody pulp and slit his whore mother’s throat, but he knows that’s not going to help anything right now so he keeps quiet. He’s not sure how much more he can take, though, and he curses Max again for insisting that he start building a friendship with Harrington. 

It doesn’t take long for Steve’s eyes to go a little glassy and his mother takes his hand and guides it between them. “Oh God…” She pants a little and Steve’s eyes widen and he fights her to get his hand away from her. 

“Stop!” He pushes her back a bit. “Stop, please! Just go to bed!”

“I’ll tell your father you forced yourself on me and he’ll hurt you!” She giggles, clearly way too drunk to know what she’s saying.

He finally wrenches his hand away from her. “Fine! Tell him! I don’t care anymore. I’m not five years old. I’m not.. I’m not confused anymore. I know what you do to me is wrong. I know it and I said no. I’m _saying_ no!”

Her eyes grow cold. “You didn’t say no last year at Thanksgiving.”

“That’s not fair.” Billy is shocked and he sees the tears fall from Steve’s eyes as he collapses back against the lounger. “I didn’t… I didn’t know what I was doing and I was hurt.” 

“You kept calling me Nancy.” She laughs. “As if that little shit could hold a candle to me.”

“You drugged me and you know it!”

She scoffs. “I was just trying to relax you. You’re so uptight.” She sighs. “You really don’t care if I tell him?”

Steve shakes his head. “No, I really don’t. You’re right. He’ll hurt me. If I’m lucky, he’ll kill me. He’ll be doing me a favor.”

She reaches down between them again. “I can taste you. Would you like that, sweetheart? Mommy make it all better?”

Steve laughs then, broken and rough. “Jesus… who would have known that Seth was the lucky one.”

His mother stops moving then and her hand stops moving between them. “You _fuck_!” She starts clawing at his face. “I’ll _kill_ you!” She starts screaming for her husband. 

Steve tries to cover his face the best he can until his mother is suddenly gone and there is a scream and a splash. He looks up into the face of a very angry Billy Hargrove. 

Billy sees the shock followed by the absolute humiliation in Steve’s eyes. But he can’t let Steve think too hard about it. He holds out his hand and Steve stares at it as if he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do. But then Billy glances up at something behind Steve and he yanks Steve up and away from the pool. 

They barely hear Jason Harrington come outside and then start yelling at his wife about why she’s in the pool before they hear her crying about how Steve left her alone outside. 

Billy drags Steve away from the house. “You got your keys?”

Steve stumbles along after him. “No.”

Billy nods in understanding. “It’s fine. My car isn’t far.” He starts pulling Steve down the road and then grumbles when Steve stops and pulls his hand away. “Come on.”

Steve shakes his head and Billy wants to rage at the dead and defeated look in the brunette’s eyes. “I can’t leave.”

“_Yes_, you fucking _can!_”

Steve slowly walks backward as he looks at Billy. “You don’t understand. They won’t be here long and then… then it’ll be okay. I just have to get through a few more days.”

“Harrington!”

“I’m sorry…”

Billy tries to reach for him again, but then Steve is turning and running back to the house and Billy looks on, having no clue what to do or how to get the other boy out of the house again. It doesn’t take him long to realize that Steve won’t leave. Just like _he _ won’t leave. It’s all he knows. And that’s strangely better than being in unfamiliar territory. 

His shoulders slump and he starts walking toward his car again, but then stops and jogs back to the driveway. He takes out his keys and digs them into the side of the car there, dragging them all the way to the back and then grins at his handiwork as he does it three more times. As he gets to his own car a few minutes later, he has to admit that he feels good about the vandalism to the Ferrari. Now he just has to wait long enough for Steve’s parents to crawl back under whatever overseas rock they came from to get him away from his nightmare as the wealthy spoiled king of Hawkins High.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a rough one to write, but that's actually the second chapter I wrote in this story. I wanted to flesh it out much more, though, so hopefully I have done that. I'll update as soon as I can with more. :) I'm trying to catch up on the others right now, too.


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